Willing Arms Embrace A Need In Hospital Nurseries

Newborn babies evoke warm fuzzies and a chorus of ooh`s and aahh`s. And though diapers, colic and late-night feedings can take their toll, some people just can`t stay away from infants.

Case in point: the hundreds of north and northwest suburban residents of various ages and backgrounds who volunteer in hospital nurseries and pediatric departments. The number of nursery volunteers in area hospitals has surged in the last few years; many facilities that don`t allow volunteers in nurseries are seeing an increase in inquiries. Some of the interest can be traced to several Chicago hospitals, where hug-a-baby programs for drug-addicted or HIV- positive infants who require constant attention are eliciting long waiting lists and media coverage. Many inner-city medical facilities have suburban residents on their volunteer lists for these programs. Other residents turn to community hospitals to volunteer their time, effort and enthusiasm.

Although the incidence of cocaine and AIDS infants is statistically less in the north and northwest suburbs, the need and benefit of nursery volunteers is great.

At Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, a corps of volunteers has worked in the nursery for nearly three years. ``Everyone wants to work in the nursery,`` said Mary Francoeur, Condell`s director of volunteers. ``The nursery volunteers are a very unique group with a good background for this kind of work.``

Potential volunteers must undergo some background checks and an orientation at Condell, according to Francoeur. ``Potential volunteers fill out applications, and we have a screening interview. If I feel it`s necessary, I check references. Being a hospital, of course, we are very cautious.``

J.L. Garfield-Kutok of Gurnee has donated her time and talent once a week in Condell`s nursery for more than two years. ``For the most part, the nursery is the happiest part in the hospital,`` she said. ``And I love children.`` A mother of four herself, Garfield-Kutok said she feels like a grandmother in training.

Garfield-Kutok, ``49 and holding,`` was a school nurse for several years and enjoys working in pediatric health care. She works Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and said her duties in the nursery vary: ``Anything they need me to do, I`m there to do.`` Much of her work involves stocking and assembling nursery supplies. Garfield-Kutok makes charts for new patients, photocopies and collates, orders photo albums and folds linens, among other odd jobs.

The most entertaining part of her time in the nursery, of course, is spent with the newborns themselves. ``I feed, change and rock the babies. Sometimes the moms are tired and need a rest.`` The most rewarding aspect of nursery volunteering, according to Garfield-Kutok, is the hospital and nursery environment. ``I feel Condell is an extension of my family. These are great people. There is never an off day at this hospital. And when you make your own hours and work your own pace, no one can find any drawbacks in that flexibility.``

Nor does she mind the commute from her Gurnee home to the hospital: ``I don`t care if I lived in Wisconsin. I`d go down there, I love it that much.`` Amy Prosise is another Condell nursery volunteer and has worked at the hospital for almost five years. After volunteering in several other departments, Prosise requested and received a nursery assignment. The 79-year- old Lake Villa resident finds many activities to keep her busy during her weekly four-hour stint in the nursery. Like Garfield-Kutok, she spends a lot of time with paperwork and stocking, but ``I don`t mind it at all,`` she said. And like Garfield-Kutok, Prosise cherishes the time with the infants: ``When one of the babies is crying, they hand them over to me. I just sit down and pat them and give them love. They like that.`` And after the newborns are examined by both nurses and attending physicians, Prosise bathes them.

Prosise said her age does not hinder her from bustling around the often hectic nursery. ``Volunteering keeps me busy with a regular thing to do,`` she said. ``I`m needed. After I work there, I`m exhausted, but I think that`s what is good for me.``

Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington also uses volunteers in its nursery, and Jean Standbridge has worked there for five years. Like other nursery volunteers, her responsibilities include replenishing supplies. She also brings the newborns to the mothers after pediatrician checkups. Some parents bring their babies back to the hospital after they return home, Standbridge said, ``especially around Halloween, when they are all dressed in their costumes.``

Standbridge, 56, of Barrington echoed other nursery volunteers`

sentiments when she explained that for her, the nursery is a happy and caring atmosphere. A grandmother to a 5-month-old, Standbridge said that her volunteering provided on-the-job training for her new role.